A Scaled-Down but Classic ‘Spartacus’

What’s in a name? Fliers for the performance of “Spartacus” at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on Tuesday identified the company as the Moscow Grigorovich Ballet, a trainee ensemble or farm team founded in 1990 by Yuri Grigorovich, at that time the artistic director of Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet.

The Thousand Oaks house program, however, used a vastly more inflated moniker: The Grigorovich Ballet of the Russian Federation Ballet.

Call it what you like, this is a skilled, motivated young ensemble that brings to Grigorovich’s familiar full-length 1968 historical epic all the virtues of Soviet-era classicism--technical flash, unanimity of impulse, generosity of spirit.

Reduced in scale and abridged to just under two hours, the ballet is danced to a tape of its bombastic Khachaturian score and features crudely painted approximations of the original Simon Virsaladze sets. But the dancing is the real thing, and in the biggest battle and orgy scenes it reminds you of the fabulous full-company prowess that existed during Grigorovich’s 30-year tenure at the Bolshoi and exists there no longer.

What this “Spartacus” lacked on Tuesday was stars--and “Spartacus” requires no fewer than four stellar, charismatic principals.

A master of spectacular pirouettes, Denis Vladimirov proved an attractive, expressive Spartacus. However, his arsenal did not include the role’s heroic attacks or gymnastic partnering feats, and he generated no heat or majesty as a leader of a mass uprising.

As Spartacus’ beloved Phrygia, the refined Tatiana Liabina could act and also execute steps strongly--but not both at the same time. So her performance amounted to a collection of disconnected effects.

A dancing actor of great energy and dramatic force, Mikhail Zinoviev savored every nasty facet in the psychology of the crypto-Nazi leader Crassus. He even managed to look dangerous in the choreographed sword fights. But his unreliable technique left his portrayal only fitfully satisfying.

In contrast, the dancing of Alexandra Sivtsova as his scheming consort Aegina proved drop-dead perfect in its control, with the highest extensions and most extreme contortions imaginable. But no dramatic fire or even interpretive choices intruded on her single-minded exhibition of technique.

“Spartacus” connoisseurs will note that the cuts on Tuesday included the “Appian Way” scene of Spartacus recruiting a rebel army--a forceful male showpiece that the Bolshoi continues to excerpt for highlights programs.